NEW ORLEANS' OLD NO. 77 HOTEL & CHANDLERY LAUNCHES SUMMER ARTIST IN RESIDENCE PROGRAM Student artist from Chicago will live at the hotel, explore the city and create works for a show on Aug. 6 during White Linen Night.

June 30, 2016 - NEW ORLEANS, La. - Since opening last year in New Orleans' Warehouse Arts District, the Old No. 77 Hotel & Chandlery has focused on serving as an incubator for emerging artists through deeply integrated partnerships with New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, the region's tuition-free arts high school, and Where Y'Art, local gallerists and online cultivators of New Orleans art. This summer, the historic warehouse hotel is debuting an Artist in Residence program and inviting a student artist from outside the city to live at the hotel for a month at no charge so they can explore and create in New Orleans' unique artistic atmosphere. Throughout the month of July, guests and locals will have the opportunity to connect with the artist in residence during lobby events and follow along with his artistic adventures in New Orleans on social media. The program will culminate with an exhibition in the hotel's Chandlery space on August 6, 2016 during White Linen Night, a massive block party that draws thousands of art patrons through the galleries along Julia Street in the Warehouse District.

Thomas "TJ" Kiser, a Chicago native in his second year at the Art Institute of Chicago, will serve as the Old No. 77 Hotel & Chandlery's first artist in residence. During his stay, Kiser will keep a journal with writings, poems, and sketches of the architecture, people and places that spark his imagination and creativity during his time in New Orleans. All month long, he will post about his adventures and preview works he's creating on the hotel's Instagram account - @Old77Hotel - using the hashtag #77ResidentArtist - and on Aug. 6, 2016, he will debut his completed works in the lobby gallery of the Old No. 77 Hotel & Chandlery during White Linen Night. To give back to the artistic community in New Orleans and support local students in their arts educations, all proceeds from works sold during Kiser's show will benefit New Orleans Center for Creative Arts.

Having discovered an early love of art as a child, Kiser now uses his paintings and drawings as a medium to express what it is that he finds beautiful and meaningful. Describing his art as filled with the child-like exuberance that drove him to sketch his first drawing, Kiser's approach to art making is one that is playful, endlessly creative and is defined by his home town. Just as the unconventional spirit of New Orleans has inspired generations of artists in the south, the rhythm of urban life in Chicago has informed Kiser's body of work.

"Drawing on the quick pace of city life, my art is full of fast gestures, brutal honesty, and colors laid down like a blur, some haphazardly and some with serious contemplation," describes Kiser in his artist statement. "Filtering my artistic training through my inner youthful sensibilities, I try to scramble up the neatness that so often associated with adulthood."

About The Old No. 77 Hotel & Chandlery
Located in the Warehouse Arts District - just three blocks from the French Quarter and a short stroll from the Convention Center - the 167-room Old No. 77 Hotel & Chandlery features art from the New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts and Where Y'Art; a Chandlery retail space featuring items from New Orleans makers; award-winning cuisine from Chef Nina Compton at Compere Lapin and Tout La; free Wi-Fi; and Provenance Hotels' signature Pillow and Spiritual menus. The Old No. 77 Hotel & Chandlery can be found online at www.old77hotel.com.

About Provenance Hotels
Headquartered in Portland, Ore., Provenance Hotels develops award-winning urban boutique hotels with a distinct and deeply integrated art story. From sleep to peace of mind, Provenance Hotels' signature pillow menu and spiritual menu have guests covered. All Provenance Hotels welcome man's best friend with pet-friendly accommodations and amenities ranging from pet bowls, beds and toys to a pet spiritual menu. The portfolio includes Hotel deLuxe, Hotel Lucia and Sentinel in Portland, Ore., Hotel Max in Seattle, Wash., Hotel Murano in Tacoma, Wash., Hotel Preston in Nashville, Tenn. and the Old No. 77 Hotel & Chandlery in New Orleans, La. Provenance Hotels will open Hotel Theodore in Seattle in fall 2016 and can be found online at www.provenancehotels.com.